


0:00

by asaprockme



Series: I Will Always Love You [3]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Break Up, Fluff, Getting Back Together, It just happened, M/M, Past Relationship(s), Starting Over, i didnt mean to leave liam out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-21
Updated: 2015-03-21
Packaged: 2018-03-18 21:52:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3585363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asaprockme/pseuds/asaprockme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The timer is set on 0:00 and he's going to start again.</p><p>Or in which Niall gives Harry another chance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	0:00

**Author's Note:**

> Please read 1:25 and 1:27 before this please :)

Four months. It's been four months since Niall has seen Harry's face. It's surreal. Kind of feels like he's dreaming, like his eyes are deceiving him and Harry's not actually there, but is actually a figment of his imagination instead. The thing is, this is real **―** it's real life. Niall feels like he can't breathe.

Because there Harry is standing across from him, in front of his door. He looks, well,  _good_. His hair has grown a bit, eyes look greener than ever. (Had they gotten sparklier or is Niall just seeing things?) He's still wearing those jacked up boots and those jeans that Niall is sure have seen better days, but he looks great. Fantastic, even.

But he sends Niall a weak smile when he notices that they've just been standing there staring at each other for far too long, one that doesn't reach the corners of his eyes like they used to. Niall feels a pang of sadness strike his heart for a moment, but the feeling is quickly diminished when he realizes what is actually going on, what actually happened.

Harry left him. He left him like it was the obvious choice and he never looked back. And Niall loved him **―** _loves_  him **―** with all his fucking heart, but Harry decided that he couldn't take it anymore, that he was done, and that sends a sense of pain through Niall.

He just wants to know why? Had it been him? Was he the one that managed to fuck everything up for them? And if he was, what had he done wrong? Niall was so clueless, so confused; "growing apart" just wasn't enough for him.

So, what Niall does next surprises not only him, but Harry, too. He doesn't think at all, instinct takes over him. He's so fucking angry at Harry, he is, and he hasn't realized up until now. After all these months, it just now hits him. It hits him like a ton of red bricks, and that's all there is to it, really.

Neither of them have said a word to the other. And before Niall knows it, he's stepping forward and he's pushing Harry back with as much effort as he can manage.

He just wants to know why.

Harry's eyes go wide before he can actually let what's happening soak in. He stumbles back a bit, tripping over his own two feet. Harry is typically a bit clumsy, but this time it isn't his fault.

"You asshole!" Niall's shouts, chest heaving rapidly.

"Ni **―** " Harry tries to say, tries to grab Niall's hands in his to stop him from pushing him again, but Niall won't let him.

This isn't how Harry imagined their reunion at all.

"No, Harry," Niall spits sourly. "You don't get to do this to me. You don't get to do this." he pushes the younger boy once more.

"Niall, I'm sorry, I **―** "

This time, instead of pushing him again, Niall bangs his fist across Harry's chest. "You left me!" His voice raises; he can feel the tears prickling at the corners of his eyes. "You left and you didn't even look back!"

"Niall **―** " Harry tries again, tries to dodge Niall's fists, too.

"I loved you and you left me! You told me we grew apart, that we weren't working out anymore; you told me we weren't meant to be, and you..." Niall finally sobs. He's not even trying to hit Harry anymore. His fists now gently bang against Harry's broad chest, and he cries. Because it hurts too much. It's been four fucking months and it still hurts like hell. "You **―** you fucking left me. I missed you, but you only hurt me, Harry. It hurts."

"I didn't mean to hurt you," Harry speaks, keeping his voice low. "I never wanted to hurt you, Niall, you have to believe me."

It seems as though that only sets Niall off. He's back to punching Harry's chest and pushing him, and it's all too much.

"But you did!" He screams. Harry only hopes that nobody will become interested in their little squabble seeing as they are standing outside of Niall's flat right now. "You did hurt me, Harry! For four months you've hurt me."

"I wasn't ready!" Harry shouts suddenly, shocking himself just as much as he had Niall. Niall stops in his tracks. His hands stop themselves from hitting Harry, and he stares at him in disbelief. Harry takes that as an opportunity to continue.

"You think I didn't love you, too? You think I haven't missed you these past months either? I have, Niall! Every fucking day I missed you. I missed your blond hair and your blue eyes and your obnoxious laugh. I fucking did, too, Niall, I did, but it was too much."

Niall stares at him, blue eyes gone blank, mouth unable to release words. He's not sure what to do.

"I left you because I was scared. I didn't know what I was doing, and it was overwhelming. I'd never loved anyone like I loved you, and I didn't think I was ready to. I didn't deserve you, Ni. I probably still don't now."

Niall shakes his head, removing his hands from Harry's body. "Don't say that," he whispers, eyes trailing to the ground beneath them. He then realizes that he never bothered putting on shoes. He's stood outside, fighting with his ex-boyfriend, in a pair of white socks.

It's funny how things come about.

"I'm sorry, Ni, I really am. I wish I never left you. I missed you everyday."

"Really?" Niall's eyebrows raise.

"Yeah," Harry chuckles to himself. "I **―** " he takes a deep breath. "I felt like such a fool. I wanted to come back to you, but I was too afraid. Kept thinking that you'd probably hate me, so I kept to myself."

"I don't hate you," Niall insists with hopeful blue eyes. "I could never hate you, Harry, no matter what."

"I know, I just... I couldn't face you. But then, last week, I had my phone in my hand, and I didn't know what the fuck I was doing, but I just missed you so much, I couldn't take it anymore."

Niall watches Harry intently, tears leaking out of his eyes like before. He feels like he should be embarrassed by it, but he doesn't care. In a way, he wants Harry to feel bad for him, wants him to know how much he's been hurting, but he also doesn't care. He's just thankful that Harry's back, he's here in the flesh, and that's all that could ever really matter.

"I miss you," Harry speaks carefully, stepping forward slowly. He grabs Niall's hands in his, fingers curling around his knuckles as he does so, keeping their hands close to his heart.

Niall nods, "me too." He says. "Me too."

"I **―** can we start over. Maybe?" Harry asks desperately, biting down on his lower lip. He's anxious for what Niall has to say he doesn't want to lose him again. Doesn't know what he'll do with himself if he does.

"You hurt me," Niall breathes out. He ducks his head so that he and Harry are no longer sharing eye contact.

"I know," Harry squeezes their clasped fingers. "I know, I'm sorry **―** "

"But..." Niall sucks in a breath. "But you're here now and I'm happy about that, I am."

Harry smiles, and unlike the smile he wore before, this one is much brighter. Makes Niall feel like he could be whole again.

"Please," Harry begs, voice nothing but a whisper.

"I'm not going to rush into things with you, Harry. I want you to know what. We can't just pick things back up from where they ended, okay?"

"I know, Ni, I know."

"We have to take things slow..." Niall adds, but his heart stutters anyway. He can't believe they're doing this again. Nothing feels real anymore.

"Whatever you want," Harry says. He removes on of his hands from Niall's to brush his fingers against the blond's cheek. He almost forgot how smooth his skin was; it makes Harry want remember every trace of Niall just like he once had before.

"Promise me one thing, though," Niall chimes. His heart won't stop pounding, but he'll be okay.

Harry looks down at the older boy expectantly, his eyebrows raised to the top of his head. Niall is almost overwhelmed by the gleam in his eyes, how sparkly they actually are. He almost gets lost in them, but then he remembers that they're in the middle of something.

"Promise me you won't hurt me again." Niall's voice is so low that Harry almost doesn't hear him, but of course he does. He always will.

"I won't," Harry assures Niall, pulling him in and wrapping his arms around the smaller boy. He rests his head in the crook of Niall's neck, hooks his chin over his shoulder, and just breathes him in. God, he missed Niall son much it's not even funny. "I promise." He mutters, voice getting lost in Niall's skin.

Niall feels like this is the start of something new. He feels like maybe this is their time to do things differently. Maybe this time they'll get it right.

***

It's not as easy as Harry expected coming back into Niall's life. Though both Niall and Harry seem much happier around each other now, that doesn't mean that everyone else is a-okay with things.

Niall insisted that he and Harry were going to take things slow, and he's sticking to his word. He knows that if he lets Harry in too early things will probably all fall apart, and he's not going to risk that this time. He doesn't think he could handle the pain the second time around, so he's willing to slowly ease into things for his **―** their **―** sake.

Zayn takes it the hardest out of Niall's friends. Although Zayn had once claimed that Niall and Harry not being together anymore was something Niall should've gotten over (which he still believes that anyway), there isn't a doubt that he's angry at Harry for what he'd done.

 _"Niall, I just don't want you to get hurt again."_  He'd told the blond one day.

 _"I won't, Zayn."_ Niall replied, but it was no shock that Zayn didn't believe him.

It didn't matter, though, because Niall was the one doing this. He had faith in Harry, he still trusted him with his whole heart, and that is why he's willing to try this again.

Louis was a lot happier for Niall than Zayn was. Not that Zayn wasn't happy, but he tended to see the worse side of things; he was a bit of a pessimist sometimes. But Louis was blunt and if he told Zayn that he should just fuck off (in the friendliest way, of course), then nobody took it personal. That was just louis for you.

Of course Harry understood why Niall's friends would feel so strongly about him. After all, he was the one who brought this upon himself. But he was trying now, and he was doing a hell of a good job, too.

Niall and Harry start off again as friends. They text a lot, sometimes hang out, but for the most part that's really it. Harry's pretty impatient about some of it, but he knows that waiting is the right thing to do. It's whatever Niall wants, he doesn't mind one bit.

Niall is somewhat surprised that things aren't awkward for them at first, and for that he's glad. It was like things never stopped between them, minus the hand holding and kissing and stuff like that. But it's okay, because Harry's perfectly content with being with Niall how he is so far. He wouldn't trade it in for the world.

Niall and Harry are currently watching a movie on Niall's sofa. There's a respectable distance between the two. If both of them were to cross their legs at the same time their knees would knock, but other that that there's no touching involved.  _Slow_ , Harry had to remind himself. But he can't help that his fingers are itching to pull Niall closer right now. Can't help the strong urge to cuddle like they had before.

 _Slow, slow, slow_.

It's some comedy movie they're watching. Harry's heart all but bursts into flames when Niall laughs loudly at all the right times, when his eyes crinkle at the sides and he has to wrap his arms around his stomach to keep it all in. Harry's not even sure what's going on in the movie at all, his eyes are do let focused in Niall and the sight is better than any film he's ever seen in his life.

It makes Harry smile without him even realizing it. His lips curve up and his dimple pop in and everything feels great to him. Like the world is much clearer, like it's brighter than it's ever been. Harry watches Niall until screen fades to black and the credits start to roll. Eventually, Niall gets up to remove the DVD from it's player and place it back in it's case, and Harry's eyes follow him all the way over.

"Always forget how funny that movie actually is until I end up watching it again," Niall speaks up as he returns the movie back to its shelf. Harry sends him a lazy smile.

It's amazing how much he missed Niall. Really.

"Yeah," Harry agrees even though he can only remember like half a scene from the movie. It's not like he's going to be quizzed on it, though, so it doesn't really matter.

It's been about three and a half weeks since Harry and Niall decided to take things slow again, but Harry can't debt the fact that he's becoming anxious for everything  _not_  to be going so slow. Like, seriously, it's like someone pressed the slow motion button on their life remote and things are going half the speed they said they'd go instead.

Maybe Harry's just impatient, lovesick fool, or maybe he just wants it all to be like it once was, but he knows he has to wait, for Niall, so maybe it won't be that bad. It hadn't been bad so far, except for the longing feeling to simply hold Niall's hand again. That's all he wants to do, really:  _hold Niall's hand_. Is it too much to ask for?

"I know that face," Niall tells him with raised eyebrows. "What are you thinking about?"

When Niall sits back down again, he sits a little closer than before.  _Not close enough_ , Harry thinks, but it's closer. Their knees are touching unwillingly now. He supposes that's a lot better.

"Nothing," Harry shakes his head, tries to play it off. He shrugs, scratching his head nonchalantly. His hair is in a bun and Niall shamelessly likes it. He likes it a lot, actually. "I **―** it's nothing."

"Nothing always means something with you, Harry," Niall smiles softly at him.

Harry let's out a puff of air, he's not even sure what he's supposed to say at all. But Niall's looking at him with these encouraging, electric blur eyes and he can't take it anymore. He knows they're supposed to be going slow with each other, he knows they're supposed to take their time, but come on. How long can they last before one of them gives in?

Like now, Harry feels like he's going to relapse, and quite frankly, he doesn't give a single care. He's sure Niall won't fight him on this. Hopefully.

Harry manages to scoot over a little until their thighs are pressed together. He lifts his hand and he carefully moves it to Niall's head, taking his fingers through Niall's brunet roots. Niall's eyes slip closed for a moment, only to open again moments later. His blue eyes meet with Harry's green ones, and it's like Harry's known all along. Niall is the one for him, he's sure. It only took him leaving him and four months to realize it, but he does now so nothing else really matters.

Harry's fingers trace the side of Niall's face, along the freckles that mark his skin, down to the edge of his jaw. His thumb skims over Niall's bottom lip, finally resting on Niall's chin almost as if he were holding him in place.

Both of their hearts stutter and Niall's breath hitches as Harry's face inches closer to his, but he doesn't do anything to stop it.

And it feels like years until Harry's lips finally meet Niall's, but when they do it feels like a riot had been started in Niall's heart. There's a party going on inside of him it seems. The fireworks have been set off, and the confetti had been thrown, and Niall missed this so much that it physically hurts. But it's a good hurt, a good kind of pain, and it's something Niall hadn't known he needed until now.

Harry is like the air Niall breathes, he's life itself and Niall needs him to function. No wonder those four months hurt so bad. Even though Niall is his own person, he's whole all on his own, he can't help but feel like he's gotten his missing piece back. It's almost as if the puzzle was completed but there was that one piece that had been lost but now it's found and the picture is complete.

Their lips move easily against each other, slowly, taking their time. It's like riding a bike in a way; you never fully forget how to ride no matter how long it's been. The knowledge is still etched into your mind. Much like kissing Harry. Although Niall's been without the feeling for so long, it's like Harry's lips never left his.

It's a beautiful bliss. But it's all Niall wants.

Niall pulls away suddenly, places his forehead against Harry's, and he just lets it all soak in. He really feels like he's stick in a fairytale, but it's a good thing that this is real life.

"I'm sorry," Harry says, even though he doesn't sound it. Niall can hear the smile in his voice. "I know we were supposed to take things slow, but **―** "

Niall's mouth stops Harry's words from tumbling out as he captured Harry's lips for another kiss. It makes Harry smile against Niall's mouth, makes him let out a small chuckle, too. He wraps his arms around Niall's body and he holds him tight. He's already let Niall go once, and he's not going to let that happen again.

The timer is set on 0:00 and he's going to start again.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to whoever asked me if I was ever going to continue this series on tumblr, because without them I would've waited much longer to add another part. If I come up with something, I might do a fourth part, but there's no guarantee. Anyway, Hope you all liked this. I hope I did your narry hearts some justice :)


End file.
